Properties Magazine November 2017 : Page 20

DOUBLE DUTY Bringing fire and police under one roof allowed for cost savings through shared spaces, such as a common lobby (top), a fitness area (middle) and locker rooms (bottom). dows and a protected reception office. From here, guests can be buzzed into a common lobby and an adjoining mul-tipurpose room used for training and community events. “One of the challenges to a facil-ity like this is designing in a certain level of security while also allowing it to feel open and inviting to the com-munity,” Renzi says. “So even though it’s a pretty secured area, it doesn’t feel constricted. The idea is to make it feel inviting, even though the majority of the building cannot be accessed with-out an escort.” Beyond the common area is a pro-tected corridor that leads to a shared fitness room furnished with high-end weight machines, free weights, tread-mills, stair climbers and more. “There’s about $70,000 worth of equipment here, but it wasn’t paid for with tax dollars,” Montgomery says. “Instead, it was paid for out of forfeited funds that were confiscated as part of a recent gambling case.” Nearby are male and female locker rooms to accommodate up to 50 indi-viduals. “We currently have 40 sworn officers and each has a locker made specifically for law enforcement,” says Police Chief Matt Fisher. “Every locker has outlets to charge phones and other devices, and each has ventilated space for storing boots and bulletproof vests. We also have built-in benches that reduce clutter. It’s much better orga-nized than anything we’ve had before.” First floor: fire department The fire department is primarily located on the first floor and designed to allow efficient access to the vehi-cle apparatus bays where fire engines, ambulances and other emergency vehi-cles are stationed. “An advantage of this site is that we’re able to have drive-through bays that allow our vehicles to enter from Burbank Road to the west and leave to Friendsville Road to the east,” says Fire Chief Barry Saley. “That is huge for us. It means we’re never backing into bays again, which reduces accident rates.” 20 Properties | November 2017